It didn’t take long for former Raiders wide receiver Antonio Brown to find a new team after securing his release from Oakland on Saturday. Brown asked the Raiders to release him after the team voided his guaranteed money, and the Raiders announced Brown’s departure Saturday afternoon.
Many NFL fans across the league responded to Brown’s release with Bill Belichick jokes, as Belichick has a long history of turning around players cast off from other teams. A few hours later, Bleacher Report’s Master Tesfatsion reported that Brown and the Patriots were close to a deal.
Antonio Brown to the Patriots – a nightmare scenario for some fans – is actually happening. Brown’s deal includes a $9 million signing bonus, according to Ian Rapoport, and with incentives, Brown could potentially earn up to $15 million this season.
Given the way Brown’s departures from Pittsburgh and Oakland played out, Belichick is making the risky bet that he can get Brown to buy into the “Patriot Way.” If Brown doesn’t become an off-field headache in New England, however, then one of the Super Bowl LIV favorites just added one of the best wide receivers in the game, which is a scary proposition for the rest of the league. Brown will not be eligible to play Week 1 for the Patriots, but can play starting Week 2.
Current and former NFL players sounded off on the deal on Twitter.
